by D N Meinster
"He's obviously better at stealing than fighting," Aros added.
Ale brought two more daggers into his hands. "These are going straight through your tongues!" He bounced at Aros, who held up his clawblade to take the blows.
While Ale and Aros were locked in a shoving match behind their blades, Doren went to strike the red-haired Thalian. But Ale kicked at Doren's leg, causing the Prince to drop to his knee.
Ale transformed into the smoke boy and ran right through Doren, adding some distance between them before he turned human again.
Aros used the time to withdraw his second clawblade. "Try that again!"
Ale faced the two companions, his eyes darting from Uterak's body to his challengers. He took a cursory glance behind his back, and his plan became obvious.
Doren wanted to laugh. "Run, you coward!"
"Neanthal, give me strength," Ale murmured to himself.
"I don't think your god can hear you," Doren taunted.
"He's locked behind this giant door, ya know," Aros added.
"Not for long," Ale roared, and two blades longer than he had ever summoned rose up from his hands. They weren't quite the length of a sword, but they could hold their own with one.
Doren ran forth, tossing his shield as his proximity to the Thalian increased.
Ale held his daggers out, with one right next to the other. The shield collided with them and fell straight to his feet. He stepped onto the copper metal and gave the Prince a smirk. "Who fights with a shield, anyway?"
Doren froze and stepped to the side, allowing the trailing Aros to dive right at Ale with his clawblades. With one sword, he cleared a path for his other, impaling it into Ale's chest.
A panicked Ale tried to transform into the smoke boy, but he failed to change shape as Aros' blade dug further into his torso.
The two combatants stared at each other before they moved their eyes onto Ale's wound. The blade was in his chest, but there was no blood. There wasn't even a gash. All Aros had impaled was smoke.
He swiftly withdrew the blade from Ale's body, bringing with it only puffs of black vapor.
Ale's shock turned to glee, and he gave them a frightful smile. "You Magenites are finished. Neanthal is with me! Where is your goddess? In Her Bastion? Not with you, I'm certain."
Aros backed up to Doren, who was defenseless without his shield. This was a troubling development. How were they going to defeat someone who could literally turn into smoke? Smoke was intangible and could evade their weapons like it wasn't even there. Perhaps it was their turn to consider running away. They were outmatched without magic.
"How do we stop him now?" Doren asked, doubtful that Aros could provide a solution.
"Get your shield back," Aros ordered, and he made a run at Ale.
Aros swung wildly at Ale, who avoided the strikes like he was uncertain they would simply pass through him like the previous assault.
Doren dove for his shield as soon as the Thalian's foot was off it, and he rolled back onto his feet.
Aros had an advantage with two clawblades and was eventually able to slice through one of Ale's arms. But the blade only cut through smoke, and Ale came out of the blow unharmed.
Aros didn't let the ineffectiveness of his onslaught stop him, and he continued to engage the Thalian. Yet with every hit that made it past Ale's defenses, he came out unscathed.
Doren joined Aros' futile attack and pounded his shield into Ale's body. Though ineffective, the smacks diverted Ale's full attention from Aros. And though Ale could take a hit, he still would try to block all incoming strikes.
Aros and Doren worked from opposite sides, with Ale spinning about to keep up. He would block a clawblade, and then rotate to knock back Doren's shield.
When Ale started to tire, he jumped into the air and landed a spinning kick into both shield and clawblade.
Doren and Aros stumbled back, and Ale took the moment's reprieve to toss his daggers at them.
Doren crouched behind his shield, while one of the blades nicked Aros' shoulder.
"Magenine is definitely not helping you," Ale mocked them. "It's not too late. Forsake your goddess and join us at the Door."
"We're not going to let you release misery and slavery back into the world," Doren told him.
"You should follow your Grand Mage's lead," Ale growled.
"Why do you want to?" Aros asked, as unaware of Ale's background as Doren.
"I fought for Neanthal since he arrived in Kytheras," Ale informed them. "Everyone believed King Aergo was doing such a fantastic job. But many of us in the Outer knew what bullshit that was. My wife died while she was pregnant because there wasn't enough food to share with us trivial Outerlings. And then Neanthal came, told us all of the Goddess who had abandoned us, who had let a king rise that thought nothing of us. He would save us from the Goddess' torment. You fools believe Neanthal will only release misery. Take a look around this place. The Outer is still in ruins, and misery prevails while the true savior lies behind the Door!"
Ale's body turned completely into black smoke, and daggers shot out in all directions from his frame.
Doren blocked the incoming blades with his shield, which burst into smoke as they smashed into the metal.
Aros spun his blades around, unimpeded by his injury. The daggers vanished as his clawblades crashed into them.
"Ale, I think you've forgotten," Doren said. "Neanthal let you die."
Ale's faced reappeared at the top of the smoke. "And then he brought me back. Which is more than Magenine will do for you!"
A storm of daggers erupted from the smoke. Countless blades streamed through the air at a steady rate. They weren't aimed at Doren or Aros, but there were so many it was impossible to avoid them. Doren kept behind his shield, safe from the sharp edges. But Aros couldn't keep up with the sheer amount that came out him, and he was covered with scratches as the storm went on.
Doren glanced out from behind his shield and saw that Aros' condition was worsening. There was no sign that Ale was about to stop, and Aros was already dripping in blood. Doren didn't know how he could stop Ale, but he had to try. They both had to try. "Move in!"
Doren crawled closer to the source of the storm, feeling the daggers slice into his arms and legs as he moved. He continued through the pain, knowing it was over if they stopped now. Aros would die, and Ale would finish him off.
Doren wasn't much for praying, but he silently cried to the Goddess for a hand as he neared Ale. She was the only one who could counter Neanthal, and She was all that prevented them from joining Her in the Great Bastion. Ale trusted so much in the Divine Corruption, but Doren was not a loyal Magenite. He had blamed Her for his fate for his entire life. He didn't choose to be the son of a king; to be his only heir. That was the Goddess' choice. He had cursed Her more often than not and had asked for answers more than for help. She was the source of his life and his desolation. Ale had a point when he blamed Her. But Neanthal was not their savior. Neanthal was a beast, enslaving, indiscriminately killing, and feeding off the devotion of his Thalians. Magenine may have caused his pain, but She was a guiding light for the realm. She made mistakes, as evident by sin mages, but She did not inflict pain and torture for pleasure.
As Doren reached Ale, the storm of daggers came to a conclusion. Ale once again took human form and examined the results of his blitz. Aros could hardly stand, covered in so many slits that it was miraculous none of the blades had pierced him further. Doren was still on the ground, tucked behind his shield. But despite the havoc he caused, he was disappointed. "I thought you'd both be dead."
Doren got to his feet and brought his face ridiculously close to the Thalian. "You're the only one that's dead."
"That's not true!" Aros cried out. "Uterak is too!"
Ale's fury was present in his expression, and more daggers appeared in his hands. "You will join him!"
Before Ale could even try to stab Doren, the Prince's shield smashed into his hand.
Ale dr
opped the dagger, but as it slowly fell through the air, Doren used his shield to redirect it toward Ale's gut. The dagger imbedded itself in Ale's side, and a startled Ale bent forward. His hand rushed to the dagger to try and remove it, but Doren's shield bonked into his forehead.
Ale's feet left the ground as he flew back, landing face up on the ground.
Doren towered over Ale's unconscious body, but he was hesitant to finish the job. He had never killed anyone, leaving that to men who believed they had a right to make such decisions. Doren had never had the ego to consider himself one of those people. Just because he was prince, did that mean he could go around sentencing subjects to death?
Did this Thalian deserve to die? He wanted to release Neanthal but hadn't yet succeeded. He was slippery, yet here he was within reach. Doren didn't want to condemn him, even if he was technically already dead. There was still life within him.
Doren looked at his companion, who was in pretty bad shape. Aros gave him a slight nod and then turned away.
Couldn't Aros have just done it? Taken a blade and shoved it into the unconscious Thalian? Why did he turn away?
Doren didn't want to do this. He wanted to run away. But he saw one of Ale's fingers twitch and reacted instantaneously. Doren raised his shield above his head and whacked it right into the handle of the dagger protruding from Ale's gut. The force of the collision drove the dagger completely into Ale's body.
Ale's eyes sprung open right before his whole body turned to smoke. But the smoke maintained his form for only a second before completely dissolving. There was nothing left of Ale; not a single red hair or a scrap of green fabric.
Chapter Nineteen
Superior
Rikki's eyelids would not obey her commands. She ordered them open, and though she felt them twinge, they stayed shut. The rest of her body was an odd tingle that also proved to be immovable. Was she still in the Healer's Sanctuary? Did Eruc do this to her?
Her ears proved as useless as her eyes. There were no sounds; not a footstep or a grumble from another patient. Or was she merely unable to hear them? Her ears could be as paralyzed as the rest of her.
Rikki felt imprisoned inside her own body. She wanted to scream out, but that was as fruitless as every other attempted action. Was this a bad dream? Was it corrupt magic?
She quieted her panicked thoughts and prayed to the Goddess. Magenine was said to live inside all mages. She could hear her though she could not speak. She could help her.
Whether it was her own abilities or truly the Goddess, one of her eyes began to open. At first, she saw only a giant blur of light in front of her. But her eye focused, and she could make out a low, gray ceiling, full of meandering cracks.
Moving her eyeball proved troublesome, but it slowly relocated so she could see what was at her side. The room was filled with torches and stone caskets. It was incredibly similar to where they had encountered the Resurrected before, except there were more than two sarcophagi. The room looked to be filled with these stone tombs, and she could only surmise that she was lying on top of one. So she wasn't in Castle Tornis after all.
"The Goddess is stirring within you, helping you wake," said a familiar voice.
Who was speaking? She knew the man that was connected to this voice, but she couldn't picture him. Her other eye started to peek open. Maybe if she could see him.
"It figures," he sighed. "This one girl stays asleep for days, and you wake in a matter of hours. Doubt even I could perform such a feat."
As her second eye adjusted to the light, she saw who was speaking. And she was relieved. Hatswick was at her side, peering down on her. She tried to open her mouth to respond, but it still felt glued shut. She would have to keep working at it.
"I could ease your awakening, but I'm sure you'll be free within moments," Hatswick stated.
Why wouldn't he help her? She could feel her lips start to part, and a small squeak escaped from them.
"So you have her strength. But do you have her intelligence?" he asked as Rikki whistled over him.
What was Hatswick talking about? Couldn't he remove her paralysis already? She wanted to get out of here, wherever here was. Undoubtedly the Resurrected had taken her, and Hatswick had found her again. But he didn't seem to be in a rush to leave, which was perplexing. The Thalians could be back at any time. They had to go. "Huh-huh-haa," she tried to speak.
"That's it," he gave her an encouraging smile. "Did you know, Rikki, that the Palmarose flower wasn't extinguished after the plague? Certainly they tried, but that weed sprouted up in places that many Kytherans wouldn't go. Mainly, the Outer."
What in the world was he talking about? "Hatswick," she managed to speak. "What?"
"Still in the dark?" he asked. "Can't piece it all together. I really wouldn't enjoy spelling out my entire plot. Just takes some of the oomph out of it, don't you think?"
Rikki started to wiggle her fingers one at time. The paralysis was wearing off, but that didn't bring clarity to any of the words Hatswick was speaking. Why was he talking about the Palmarose flower? What plot was he referring to? "Can we go?" she asked, hoping he would shift them back home.
"Afraid you can't. I need you."
"That's sweet, but can't you need me at the castle?" There was no reason to stay in this tomb.
"Oh my girl, maybe your brain is still resting." He walked out of her line of sight.
Rikki's entire body felt twice as heavy as normal, but at least she could feel it. She fought to get her eyes back on the Grand Mage. She wanted to make sure that it was really him, and that this wasn't some Thalian trick. Hatswick didn't sound like himself, and he definitely wasn't acting as she remembered. Was he really even there?
"I only ever needed two mages," Hatswick said from some corner of the room. "Amelia's heir and one other. Fortunately, Milo was born a few years after you. Otherwise this all could have dragged on for another century. And by then, you may have been impossible to control."
"You're not making any sense," Rikki moaned as she tried to push herself up and get a better view of the room.
"That's because you're missing the underlying fact. I must have undertrained you too much."
"Undertrained?" She was on the lid of a coffin, meaning there was likely a skeleton right on the other side of the stone. A shudder rippled through her core, unintentionally waking her entire body from slumber. She still felt like she was a hundred pounds heavier, but she was able to sit up and get a better look at her location. The room was indeed filled with stone coffins, lined almost from wall to wall. Leidess was lying unconscious atop another one, some feet away. There was no one else there except for Hatswick, who was leaning in a corner, his staff and Amelia's staff in each of his hands.
Hatswick looked real and had the same appearance he always had. Maybe she wasn't even awake, and this was all an odd dream. That would explain why none of his words made sense. She was on her way to convincing herself she was actually dreaming when Hatswick interrupted her thoughts.
"Rikki, my dear girl. I am a Thalian," Hatswick said, his face twisting into a malicious grin that didn't belong. "Now take that and extrapolate."
Hatswick a Thalian? Nope, had to be a dream. The mage that locked Neanthal away couldn't be a Thalian. That would be ridiculous.
"Keep processing that, and you'll get there."
"You can't be," she said automatically.
"Just assume it even if you can't comprehend it."
If Hatswick was a Thalian, that meant he'd have spent nearly a season working with the Resurrected to open the Door. So he'd have had to been part of their plan to crash the Celebration. But he was frozen like everyone else. Yet, didn't he disappear for a while afterward?
Still, when Rikki and her companions were surrounded, Hatswick came to their rescue. He showed up and smacked all their opponents. But how did he know where they were? Hatswick was clever enough to figure it out. That didn't mean he was a Thalian.
"It still doesn't make sense," she t
old him.
Hatswick glowered at her. "What about that which I've relayed to you so far?"
Hatswick had mentioned the Palmarose flower. She had been speaking about that with the healer. Maybe he overheard them. But he wasn't with them. Why would he be listening? And he said he needed two mages. For what exactly?
"What did you need two mages for?" Rikki asked.
"Getting closer. Two mages; one to die and one to assist in opening the Door. And I required Amelia's heir to facilitate the latter."
Rikki's mouth hung open as she digested Hatswick's words. His implication was clear, but she couldn't believe it. It was a horror beyond any she could recall in recent history. "Did you have something to do with Milo's death?"
"Yes," he answered plainly. "I had everything to do with it."
Rikki started shaking her head in disbelief. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He was their teacher. He wouldn't kill a student. Such a young, innocent student...
"Let me wake up," she whispered to herself. "Please, let me wake up."
"But you are awake, more now than you were days ago. The truth stands before you. You shouldn't wish it away."
"You wouldn't kill him!" she screamed, her voice enhanced by the enclosed surroundings.
"I had to," Hatswick said. "Bringing back Neanthal required an inordinate amount of work. And if I went missing for too long, some in the castle might have gotten suspicious. I needed Thalians, and unfortunately, that's a nearly extinct species in our present. So I had to dig up some graves."
Rikki went pale. Resurrection was corrupt magic since it was a direct affront to the Goddess. She had deemed someone's time was up, and only the Beast's power could counter Her wishes.
"Do you know what it takes to bring the dead back to life?" Hatswick rhetorically asked. "Of course you don't. I never taught you, and it's not in any books in our library. To bring back a life, another life must be taken. But the more bodies that turned up, the more attention I would have caught. Fortunately, just because the magic needed life did not portend the necessity for human life. So I used an animal sacred to mages, though it would hardly be missed."
